It was a scorcher of a day, but that didn’t stop us from boarding a bus in Mui Ne and hiking a hill to visit an ancient temple this side of Vietnam. I have absolutely no inkling that this country has an almost Angkorian architecture within its lands; a very nice surprise, to say the least.

TOURING DIY IN MUI NE

We just finished the usual Mui Ne itinerary of visiting the White and Red Sand Dunes, the Fairy Steam, and its fishing village the day before. We didn’t do it DIY though, we simply hopped on a five-dollar Mui Ne half day tour. This time, we scanned the map provided by Joe’s Seaside Boutique where we were staying and circled a few more spots worth visiting. We’re definitely doing it DIY.

MUI NE’S CHEAP LOCAL BUS

THE VIEW ALONG THE ROAD

PO SHANU CHAM TOWERS

Boarding a local non air-conditioned bus in front of our hotel for a measly VND9,000.00 (USD0.40 | PHP20.00) we sped off westward towards the town of Phan Thiet. Before crossing borders, we got off on a deserted hilly part of town and proceeded on an uphill walk to the Cham Towers of Mui Ne.

Officially called the Po Shanu Cham Towers, these three 9th-century structures were built by the people from the Cham Kingdom whose rule over Vietnam used to extend all the way from Hue to the Mekong Delta. Fashioned after the Hoa Lai style, it was built to worship the Hindu god Shiva.

Not a lot is known about its history after it was unearthed in 1990, but one thing’s for sure though, it’s definitely no Angkor Wat. But even with its diminutive size and stripped off decorations due to time and repairs, it’s still a site worth your time when in Mui Ne.

Right at the back of the towers, there’s a war memorial and an old fortress kept off limits to the public. It was said to be constructed by a French nobleman which was later used by the French colonizers, and after the South Vietnamese against the communist north.

ONE OF MUI NE’S CHAM TOWERS

SECOND TOWER UNDER REPAIR | THE FRENCH FORTRESS AS SEEN FROM THE ROAD

A VIEW OF PHAN THIET FROM THE HILL

WAR MEMORIAL AT THE BACK OF THE TOWERS

BAI DA ONG DIA BEACH

After being baked brown, we traced our steps back towards the road and waited for a bus that would take us to a few of Mui Ne’s beaches. The beaches are unnamed on the Google Maps, so we have no idea what to tell the bus conductor where we were going. We just paid the minimum fare and alighted when our mobile phones told us to get off.

Seeing no opening from the road to the beach, we entered the lobby of Victoria Phan Thiet Resort[CHECK DISCOUNTED RATES & AVAILABILITY] like we were guests and proceeding towards the beach like the bosses that we are, lol.

A little note about Mui Ne’s beaches. We were told that its beach sand actually shifts depending on the season, so there are times when the only thing you’ll see are breakwaters from the resort. It’s not actually that weird, I found a similar occurrence at Boracay’s Puka Beach. The beach we entered, however, has some sort of organic sandbags protecting its shore from these shifts, so they have a beach all year round.

Going eastward, we passed some open cogon huts with seats fashioned after the Vietnamese floating tubs, the thung chai, before emerging on a sprawl of sand, the Bai Da Ong Dia Beach. The sand is quite fine and the beach, very expansive. The water’s good for swimming too as we saw a few tourists frolicking near the shore even during the sun’s zenith.

We ended our walk at the Ong Dia Cape, a man-made breakwater protecting uncountable number of basket boats along its embrace.

WENT THROUGH A PRIVATE BEACH

CROSSED THESE HUTS

EMERGED AT THE BAI DA ONG DIA BEACH

AND ENDED AT THE ONG DIA CAPE

BO KE STREET SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS

Hungry from all that walking, we boarded another bus eastward to the Bo Ke restaurants in Mui Ne (VND9,000.00 | USD0.40 | PHP20.00). Bo ke in Vietnamese actually means embankment, just as is the case with these restaurants’ location. These simple open-aired eateries start along the eastern part of town and ends just before Mui Ne’s fishing village. The selections here are, of course, very fresh, coming straight from the fisherfolks in the area.

We were seated right by the sea, and although the beach was not that clean due probably to its proximity to these restaurants—the wind tends to blow litter from the tables quite easily—it was still the best place to have your meals in Mui Ne. And right after, your Saigon Beer too.